Mora v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

The case of Mora v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection concerns an appeal by the appellants against the Federal Circuit Court's decision to dismiss their application for judicial review of the Tribunal's decision to refuse to approve a nomination for a 457 visa. The Tribunal's refusal to approve the nomination resulted in the denial of the visa application. The core dispute revolves around whether the Tribunal erred in its application of the relevant criteria, particularly by using an outdated version of the Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), and whether this constituted a jurisdictional error or failure to consider mandatory factors, thus rendering the decision unreasonable.

The legal issues before the court included whether the Tribunal failed to correctly apply the criteria by referencing an outdated version of ANZSCO, which led to a jurisdictional error in its decision-making process. Additionally, the court examined whether the Tribunal failed to take into account mandatory relevant considerations or, conversely, whether it took into account irrelevant considerations. Furthermore, the court considered whether the Tribunal's decision was unreasonable due to a lack of a rational and intelligible basis, and whether this necessitated quashing the visa decision as well.

The court found that the Tribunal's reliance on an outdated version of ANZSCO indeed constituted a jurisdictional error. The Tribunal's failure to use the correct version of ANZSCO resulted in a flawed assessment of the nominated position as genuine, as required by the relevant regulations. This error was significant because it affected the Tribunal's ability to correctly apply the criteria and led to a decision that lacked a rational and intelligible basis. Consequently, the court concluded that the Tribunal's decisions were flawed and quashed them. The court further directed the Minister to reconsider the appellants' applications according to law.

In summary, the court allowed the appeal, set aside the Federal Circuit Court's orders, quashed the Tribunal's decisions, and directed the Minister to reassess the appellants' visa applications. The Minister was also ordered to pay the appellants' costs in both the Federal Circuit Court and the appeal proceedings.